Our Opinion: Kee wise choice for interim city manager
Tuesday, November 13, 2007 11:11 AM PST
At least short term, the decision by the Ontario City Council last week to select Police Chief Mike Kee as the interim Ontario city manager was a wise move.
Current Ontario City Manager Scott Trainor officially announced recently that he would step down from the slot and take a similar position in Colorado.
Trainor’s time as the top city appointed official will conclude at the end of this month, and officially his employment ends Dec. 9.
Meanwhile, the city will hire a recruitment firm to help find a permanent replacement for Trainor.
Kee will serve during the lag between Trainor’s departure and the appearance of a new city manager.
The choice is a smart simply because Kee, who has served as police chief for a number of years, represents continuity and is seen, to a large extent, as an honest broker by residents, the City Council and city staff.
The move is not a permanent solution to the situation. The City Council needs to move forward aggressively to find a new city manager to step into Trainor’s slot.
Kee’s choice takes care of the potential challenge of an orderly succession, but the sooner the city has a new city manager selected from a host of candidates, the better.
